News
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 • page 6
service, and an ice machine and sink were
marked down for heavy mold build-up.
Some food was not date-marked, and a
bag of lettuce was stored for nine days.
The state requires many ready-to-eat
and potentially hazardous foods to be
consumed, sold or discarded within four
days of preparation or storage to limit the
growth of pathogens and toxins.
Self-service foods, including but
ter, granola, salad toppings, cheese and
cookies, were not protected with sneeze
guards. A few stored dishes were found
dirty, and clean utensils were stored with
a greasy surge protector strip. The facili
ties received other demerits for failing to
properly sanitize wiping cloths.
Across the state of North Carolina,
health and sanitation inspections have
become an increasingly painstaking pro
cess. Last year, the environmental branch
of the Alamance County Health Depart
ment released an updated document of
food service sanitation rules to which
dining establishments must adhere.
The list identifies the top five risk
factors found in any kitchen, includ
ing improper holding temperatures and
poor employee hygiene, along with ways
to combat those risks behind the scenes.
Food handlers are now required to wash
their hands more frequently throughout
the day, and mandatory holding tempera
tures have been adjusted.
Nelson said Elon takes a number of
precautions to ensure each facility is
meeting the state requirements for in
spection.
“We have an institutional priority of
maintaining at least a 97 percent on all of
our inspections,” Nelson said. “The cri
teria developed by the state continuously
becomes more stringent, and the Elon fa
cilities continue to receive the same high
scores.”
But it wasn’t always that way. In April
2002, The Pendulum reported several fa
cilities that had not scored nearly as high
as they do now. At the time, the highest
on-campus sanitation grade was a 94.5 at
McEwen Dining Hall. The lowest was at
Acorn Coffee Shop: 88 percent.
But according to Nelson, ARAMARK
has assisted Elon’s employees in becoming
more conscious of sanitation throughout
the years. This includes fulfillment of a
■ ii
Jm
Colonnades Dining Hail and the adjacent 1889 Grill Room received a sanitation score of 82 after the most recent health inspection, 14 points lower th^ itsTast score.
training program called ServSafe which,
if completed by a manager or employee,
was formerly able to boost any dining
establishment’s sanitation grade by two
points. Now, SafeServ certification is a
requirement for all food service employ
ees in the state.
“As an organization, we do have a
third party inspect our facilities as a part
of our safety platform,” Nelson said. “All
of our managers are ServSafe certified,
and we have continuing training and de
velopmental opportunities for our front
line associates.”
Poor sanitation practices on college
campuses can lead to food-related ill
nesses caused by bacteria and other prac
tices, as well as problems for people who
have food allergies. Despite the recent
Colonnades Dining Hall demerits, on-
campus eating establishments consis
tently score high sanitation ratings, often
ranging between 97 and 101.
In March, Colonnades Dining Hail
received a rating of 96 and Lakeside Din
ing Hall received a rating of 99. McEwen
Dining Hall was given a score of 98 in
May.
Freshman Victoria Murphy said she
believed Colonnades employees would
improve their sanitation. Even though
her friends encouraged her to eat at other
dining locations, she said she continued
to eat there, partly out of convenience.
“I’ve been eating here for a month, and
I’ve been fine,” she said. “I trust that they
will do what they have to do.”
Freshman Caroline Grell also said
that she still ate at the dining hall after
the score was issued.
“I feel like now that it’s public knowl
edge, they’ll do something about it,”
Grell said.
Sophomore Sarah Vaughan said the
rating at Colonnades might influence
other on-campus eateries to improve
their sanitation practices.
“It sends a message for other dining
halls to watch out,” she said.
Vaughan said she did not pay atten
tion to Elon Dining’s sanitation practices
before the Colonnades rating. When
the score was released, she said she un
derstood that the facility was deducted
points for health violations.
“I was really surprised that a low rat
ing would be given at a college,” Vaughan
said. “I don’t want to be eating something
that’s not prepared very well.”
Despite these negative attitudes to
ward the news about the Colonnades
inspection, ARAMARK is optimistic
about its prevention program, according
to Nelson.
“We are committed to the health and
safety of Elon students and we are con
fident that we will continue to maintain
a quality dining program,” Nelson said.
ARAMARK will continue to follow all
of the local health regulations and retrain
all employees on their ServSafe certifica
tion.” V